As discussed at last week's Intel Technology Summit, the name granted to the new category of laptops--the Mama Bear, as it were, to the Papa Bear regular laptop and Baby Bear netbook--is "ultrathin." The chief distinction is size, in that netbooks generally have up to 10-inch screens whereas ultrathins will have 13.3- to 15.6-inch screens.

Another distinction will be in the industrial design itself:

"You can't sell a keyboard and a screen," [Intel manager Mooly] Eden said, describing the ideal ultrathin laptop design. "You have to sell something that somebody will desire. We need to go beyond the great CPU, great performance...to something that a normal consumer can look at say 'I want that.'"

In addition to standout aesthetics, the more powerful ultrathins will need better cooling than a netbook; Intel knows the tech will keep shrinking, but as the temperature keeps rising, it cancels out the benefits. No one wants a portable, paper-thin way to burn your lap. Intel's currently looking into laminar air flow technology, a system of cooling flow used in jet engines. We hope to see some successfully-integrated examples of this soon.

via cnet